God heals, research reveals

Healing isn’t just amazing for the physical transformation it brings. It’s also a powerful missional tool, says Chloe Swart. At Elim’s Evangelism Conference last month, she told how God is reaching people through everyday miracles – and how you can join in.

When Chloe Swart sent out questionnaires to collect stories for her PhD, she wasn’t expecting the number of powerful testimonies she received back.

More than 600 people in Wales reported they had experienced physical healing, mostly in the past one to five years.

Her 2019-2020 study led her to conclude that everyday healings are happening today.

What’s more, God is using ordinary Christians to reach people through them.

Researching everyday miracles Chloe, who today is national director of Alpha UK, says her research revealed four common themes:

Everyday people

“Most people described being healed after being prayed for by a friend, colleague or family member,” she says.

“It wasn’t a senior church leader, someone with a healing ministry or a visiting speaker.

It was just someone who’d turned and said, ‘Hey, can I pray for that backache?’”

Everyday location

“Most people describe being healed outside of a church building,” she says.

“They weren’t necessarily in healing services or ministry time but in the gym, outside M&S, at work or at a friend’s house.”

Everyday ailments

While 40 per cent of people shared incredible stories of healing from life-threatening or life-altering conditions – cancers and terminal illnesses – 60 per cent described being healed of everyday conditions, says Chloe.

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